Born in Shreveport at Highland Hospital, Carroll picked figs, sold shoes, sorted mail, and worked as a "package boy" at the A&P. He took ROTC at CE Byrd High School, and then attended Centenary College where he worked as a night watchman to pay for flying lessons. Carroll entered the U.S. Army Air Forces on December 12, 1942. He was selected as one of twenty applicants for pilot training with the Royal Air Force, held at Falcon Field in Mesa, Arizona. Carroll graduated as a second lieutenant on April 13, 1944 with both RAF and Army Air Forces wings. Assigned to Ferry Command of Air Transport Command at Long Beach, California, Carroll ferried C-47s across the country, logging nearly 1,600 hours in cargo aircraft during the war. He was then ordered to Grove Airfield at Wantagh, England, where he was assigned to the 302^nd Air Transport Wing. Just as the war in Europe was ending Carroll was sent to Casablanca, Morocco and the North African division of Air Transport Command. He soon requested assignment at Tunis, Tunisia. "I like Tunis. I like the people. In all of North Africa, they're probably the friendliest people," Carroll says. He flew to America as a co-pilot on a C-54 that was being transferred to Memphis. He arrived on February 4, 1946, and then flew on a commercial airliner to Shreveport. "I booked an airline seat and called home and said, `I'm back.' Thus ended my overseas duty in World War II," he comments. Carroll served stateside for several years before accepting a permanent Air Force commission in 1953. During his post-war career he graduated from Air Command Staff College and Air War College. He served as Chief of Operations and Training of the 4238^th Strategic Wing, and then as operations inspector for the Inspector General's Office of Eighth Air Force. He commanded of a B-52 squadron at Wurtsmith Air Force Base near Oscada, Michigan, was promoted to colonel, and then reassigned to Strategic Air Command (SAC) headquarters where he was Director of Operations of SAC. He retired on September 1, 1975.